Most business owners assume Snapchat is nothing more than a superficial mobile social app favored by a younger crowd who fear missing out on the latest trends. In particular, most people stereotype Snapchat as a social media tool strictly reserved for younger millennials and Gen Z. Delve into the nuances of this tech tool for social engagement and you’ll find it has legitimate merit for businesses in the context of marketing in 2023.
Why Snapchat is Still Relevant
Snapchat’s story began in the fall of 2011. The app gradually grew in popularity, especially among those in the tween and teenage cohorts. Though Snapchat does not rival Meta, Twitter or Instagram in terms of popularity in 2023, (and might not ever be considered in this upper echelon of social media) it is worth your attention as a business owner.
The appeal of Snapchat is that it empowers users to share messages, pictures and videos with aesthetic enhancements through filters in real-time, only for those communications to be subsequently erased after a set time. Snapchat’s value proposition is akin to the self-destructing messages used to communicate missions to Tom Cruise’s character of Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible and the leads in James Bond flicks. The twist is that Snapchat messages have an aesthetically appealing artful digital veneer.
In the context of business marketing, Snapchat is useful in that it establishes a conduit to develop a personalized connection with prospective and current customers. The Snapchat social media network provides target customers with information about value offerings, be it services or products. Some Snapchat messages used for the purposes of latent marketing provide background information about the brand that the target audience is likely to find informative, amusing or useful.
An Inside Look at Snapchat’s User Base
Snapchat has nearly 365 million daily active users. Rewind to 2017 and the social media platform had about half that figure with 165 million daily active users. The majority of Snapchat users are tweens, teens and young adults. Teenagers flock to the platform largely because of its cool factor. Snapchat has a secretive and mysterious vibe, empowering users to clandestinely transmit communications that self-erase after reception.
Dig deep into the platform’s history and you’ll find it is a legitimate trendsetter, serving as the first social media platform to provide users with a “Stories” feature in 2014 that paved a path to Instagram’s still-popular Stories feature used by millions of people in 2023. Tweens and teens recognize and admire Snapchat’s “cool” factor and respond accordingly, oftentimes giving the app preference when choosing methods of electronic communication.
Savvy business owners and marketers are capitalizing on the platform’s chicness, developing creative marketing campaigns that send subtle messages to target users with the overarching aim of creating an indelible impression for eventual conversion or heightened brand loyalty. In short, if your company wants to be considered cool, it should have a meaningful presence on Snapchat. However, as detailed below, there are some subtleties to Snapchat video ad specs for marketing that business owners and marketers should be aware of.
The Art of Snapchat Marketing
Snapchat marketing for businesses is more covert than overt. A business that expressly joins the platform to sell its product or service will not succeed in doing so. Rather, those that employ a creative approach to Snapchat marketing, choosing to tell a story that establishes a brand identity and common ground with the target audience will make a meaningful impression that moves prospects through the sales funnel.
Instead of explicitly touting the merits of your value offering, be it a product, service or something else, use your company’s Snap videos and photos to demonstrate the utility or manner in which the product/service solves problems or adds value. Though your Snaps will disappear after they are received, they will make an impact in that 10-second window, especially if a series of Snaps are strategically sent within a designated period of time.
Take full advantage of Snapchat for marketing with the “Memories” feature and you’ll communicate your brand story in an artful manner that develops a meaningful rapport with your target audience. The Memories feature empowers businesses to publish brief videos and pictures taken when not using the app to generate indelible posts for future reference. The underlying purpose of Snapchat Memories for marketing purposes is to tell the unique story of the business in a relatable and creative manner.
Add filters in the form of stickers and overlays to video and pictures posted through Snapchat and you’ll heighten engagement all the more. Snapchat’s tech has even advanced to the point that it empowers users to develop customized geofilters that promote the brand and events relevant to the target audience for maximum engagement.
